>we currently have the eight "top topics" in I&A spawned from The Topic
Surely this is capitalism in action, I thought that we were supposed to support the notion of a free market. Here we vote with our posts, rather than cash. If we don't want to talk about the fact that 7,000 poor souls have died and ways that it could have been avoided/could be avoided in the future, then I think we'd be a pretty sad bunch. Come un tsuwm, we're not all so single minded and able to brush world events out of our heads, part of me wants to try and the other part of me can't while the WTC still burns and people are left unburied. I respect the point of view of those who prefer to hide in a cupboard, only discuss the matter with those who agree with them or prefer to discuss the matter elsewhere which means that I support the idea that discussion should be restricted to clearly marked threads and without personal abuse, so I'll carry on in white for those who don't want to read.
I might have spoken too soon about press coverage of the event in the USA. I did think that coverage in the New York Times, from what I saw online, was quite broad ranging. From what I've read in the last couple of days, television coverage in the USA has stuck to pretty well on side of the argument. Mind you, I understand that foreign affairs, rarely get covered in the sound bites that pass for television reporting. It was described in one report as "unpatriotic" to do anything else, I'm interested to hear from anyone if that really is the case {PM me if you think differently}. It is a strange loop, the television stations pump out one sided rubbish and then justify it by citing "media-led" public opinion. It happens here too, although flag waving has been pretty well taken over by the ultra right wing hating everyone who isn't a white thug National Front, so the flags don't get too much of an airing.
I hope that the story that a US radio station wasn't allowed to play "Imagine" was just another myth. If not, then freedom of speech really is worth fighting for, even if we end up with a few disagreements, anything is better than the "Sound of Silence".
So maybe the on-line airing of the past few day is just another representation of the culture difference that exists between those of us who would prefer not to be divided by a common language. I'll try to keep quiet but I'm with Helen, I'd rather hear views that I don't agree with than people not talk about it.
creeps out the door to discuss "orientated" with Jackie
